Status of Local Governance at Woreda - District Level in Ethiopia

Western Michigan University
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International Conference on African Center for African Development Policy

Development Archives Research
8-2007
Status of Local Governance at Woreda/District Level in Ethiopia

Meskerem Shiferaw
SNV- Netherlands Development Organization, mesksh2002@yahoo.com
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STATUS OF
LOCAL GOVERNANCE
AT
WOREDA/DISTRICT LEVEL IN ETHIOPIA
By Meskerem Shiferaw
May, 2007
Situation analysis of local governance/woreda in Ethiopia, Meskerem shiferaw
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PERSON(S) SUBMITTING PROPOSAL/REQUESTING INFORMATION:
Name: Ms. Meskerem Shiferaw, Local Governance Advisor
Organization: SNV- Netherlands Development Organization
Address: P.O.Box 100301
City; Addis Abeba,
Country: Ethiopia Telephone 251 1 911 649524
FAX Number 2511 14 654386 E-Mail: mesksh2002@yahoo.com
Attn: Professor Sisay Asefa

Center for African Development Policy Research (CADPR)
Written for the 4th International Conference on

2 Ethiopian studies, organized by
Western Michigan University, August 2007
STATUS OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE

AT WOREDA/DISTRICT LEVEL IN ETHIOPIA
Abstract
In Ethiopia, about 50% of the population lives below poverty line.

Efforts have been exerted to reverse the situation both by Government and
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs); so far however solid results have
not been achieved as expected. The question of “what has gone wrong?” has
been coiling around in the minds of development practitioners. The
international communities point their fingers at poor governance, corruption,
internal and regional conflicts for the underdevelopment of the country. It
was the outcome of these kinds of questions along with suggestions made
that brought about the idea of promoting good governance in developing
countries. The government of Ethiopia in its Five-Year Plan, Sustainable
Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), accentuated the promotion of
improved democratic governance, decentralization and reform of the justice
system. It is the urge for good governance that inspired me to analyze the
situation at the local level; districts/Woredas in Ethiopia. Therefore, this
paper’s aim is to unravel the hidden importance of Governance as an engine
of change in improving dire economic situation at the local level. To this
end, the paper will assess the role of Local Authorities, Civil Service
Organizations (CSOs) in relation with community development.

The paper will also touch upon, but is not limited to, policies and legal
frameworks that are related to local development. To expand on this paper
pertinent literatures and discussions with local actors are used.

1. Introduction
This paper is written for the 4th International Conference on Ethiopian

Development Studies (4th ICEDS), the challenges of peace and development
in Ethiopia & the horn of Africa, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo,
Michigan, USA. The conference will be held in Kalamazoo, USA from
August 2-4, 2007.
The paper will touch upon policies and strategies that support the
decentralization process in strengthening the local governance. It also
assesses the structure from the federal up to the Woreda level, the mandate
given to the Woredas, the realities on the ground, the challenges faced while
trying to implement the policies.
The evaluation in this paper will mainly depend on certain elements of

good governance such as rule of law, participation, accountability,
transparency, effectiveness and efficiency. It goes beyond the scope of this
paper to address all elements of good governance to the local realities.

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The overall objective of writing this paper is to briefly see how the
governance system is working at local levels, to assess the opportunities like
policies and strategies, strengths and weaknesses for further studies.
3 METHODOLOGY
For the purpose of making the paper as short as possible; based on the
requirement of WMU, the study focuses mainly on secondary data and
discussion with communities (no questionnaires developed and deeper
analysis done) during field visits and workshops.
4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The paper lacks deeper analysis and concentrates on the experience of

a number of Woredas/districts. While writing this paper, it is assumed that
all Woredas have more or less the same status in implementing policies and
strategies. However, it should be noted that some of the Woredas are better
than others in their development level, capacity in implementing policies and
strategies. For example Afar, Somalia, Benishangul and Gambella are
emerging regions unlike the other bigger regions. Nevertheless, in this paper
they are assumed to have the same ability in implementing policies since
devolution of power is almost new to all.

5 MAJOR POLICIES THAT HAVE EFFECT ON THE LOCAL

GOVERNANCE
Policies and strategies have been formulated to facilitate the

devolution of power down to the lowest units of government. Some of the
most important documents that elaborate the decentralization
process/devolution of power are:
 The constitution of the country

o The country’s constitution that was adopted in 1994, clearly
indicates that:
 Rule of law will be respected and that development at each
level of government (federal, regional, zonal and
woreda/district) will be guaranteed. While trying to
achieve development, it is indicated that the rights of
citizens would be respected.
 Functions of government at all levels shall be transparent
and officials shall be accountable to the people. If these are
not fulfilled by elected representatives or officials they
shall be questioned and proper action will be taken.
 It is reflected that adequate power/devolution shall be
granted to the woredas as center of development so that
the communities participate in the development of their
vicinity. For the details on the state powers refer to the
constitution.

o Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End
Poverty (PASDEP).
 This document is a guiding strategic framework for the

period covering 2005/2006-2009/10. It is the
continuation/second phase of the Poverty Reduction
Strategy Program (PRSP) which was partly implemented
between 2002 and 2005. In the PASDEP, it is indicated
that Civil Service Reform, Justice System reform,
improved democratic governance and decentralization
would be strengthened in the coming 5 years. Detailed
information is available in the document.
o Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI)
 PASDEP, reflects that the ADLI strategy will be pursued

focusing on the private initiative of farmers and shift to
diversification and commercialization of agriculture. To
implement this strategy, the government will give support
to the democratization process and to Woreda/district level
capacity building.
o Decentralization
 There were two generations of decentralization of power

in Ethiopia. The first was decentralization of powers and
functions of the state to autonomous regional
governments while the second generation involves
shifting decision-making closer to the people at the
woreda level in a more comprehensive and concerted

program know as District level decentralization program.
 This papers deals with the second generation
decentralization
 Devolution of power to the regional governments and
Woredas in implementing the economic policies and
development programs would continue by assessing the
needs and providing capacity building trainings at the lowest

level. To strengthen the Woredas resource base, regions are
sending block grants to woredas so that they will be able to
decide on expenditures for priority areas.
6 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION/MANDATE OF THE

WOREDA
As it is indicated above, the policies and strategies implemented by

the government support the devolution of power from the center to the
regions and from regions to Woredas. If the devolution of power is properly
executed, there would be full participation of people in the development
processes from inception of ideas to planning, approval of projects,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Transparency of government
representatives towards their constituencies and accountability to their deeds
is expected.

Later in the paper whether the policies, strategies, and what is put in
the constitution is being implemented or not, on the ground, will be
discussed. To this end, the structure and mandates of the Woredas are
indicated below.
Written for the 4th International Conference 10

on Ethiopian studies, organized by
7 THE STRUCTURE OF THE WOREDA ADMINISTRATION
Woreda Council
Woreda Administrative council
Woreda
Judicial Body court
Woreda Administration
Sector Offices
Kebele Administration
Kebele Kebele Social Public Land Assns. Women,

council Administrative court Relations Administration youth
council

8 MANDATE OF THE WOREDA ADMINISTRATION
The Woredas being centers of socio-economic development have the

following mandates.
o The Woreda councils:

 Implements policies, laws, regulations, directives, plans
and programs initiated and formulated by both the federal
and regional states throughout the Woredas.
 Examines and approves the draft economic
development, social services along with
administrative working plans and programs of the
Woredas.
o The Woreda administrations:
 Prepare plans within the framework of the regional plan.
 The Woreda prepares and approves its own budget and
sends it to the regions.
 Receive block grants from regions and allocates it to
sectoral offices through Bureau of Finance and Economic
Development.

9 GOVERNANCE SITUATION IN THE WOREDAS

Before going into what is happening in the Woredas, what is
the accepted definition of local governance related to development? As
mentioned in the Journal of Human Development, Vol. 8, No. 1, March
2007, there is no consensus of local governance definition. For the purpose
of this paper the definition given by SNV, Netherlands Development
Organization is taken. SNV defines local governance as: A system that links
the two processes of democratization and decentralization at the sub-
national/district level. It involves local stakeholders interacting to determine
the local development agenda and to manage resources for implementing
their development priorities; it also involves NGOs, Community Based
Organizations (CBOs), the private sector and local institutions, local elected
government, de-concentrated government, which entails delegating some
implementation responsibilities to local officers.
In the Human Development Journal as well, it is stressed that

governance is a co-governance between the Government, Civil Society
Organizations and the private sectors. It includes dynamism, diversity and
intentionality.
After having seen the policies, strategies, structures and mandates of

Woredas and working definition of local governance related with
development, it opens a path to examine how local governments are
operating in the Woredas/districts of Ethiopia. It also assesses challenges
faced at each good governance elements during implementation.
The parameters used to examine the Local Governance/good

governance in this paper are limited to Rule of Law, participation and
accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness.
9.1 RULE OF LAW
It is understandable that the existence of properly set rule of law is a

backbone to effective functioning of a country. Good governance,
democracy and protection of human rights could only be reached if and only
if independent and effective Judiciary system along with skilled manpower;
law makers, judges and police forces are put in place.
o REALITIES ON THE GROUND
At the Woreda level there are courts (though not fully equipped with
sufficient number of skilled manpower) to serve the population to the
required quality compared to the number of cases received.
At the Keblele level however full time personnel/judges who are

supposed to look at cases do not exist. The judges come to the social courts
twice a week. They are elected by the committees in the Kebele where they
are not paid for their services. Even for the two days they are assigned for,
there is no guarantee that they will show up or if they do, it might not be on
time since they have other duties of their own like farming or other petty
trade. The judges don’t have proper training; possibly a couple of day’s
worth of seminar focusing on major issues. They serve the Kebele
community for 4 years until next election comes.
Regarding the police force in the Woredas and Kebeles, they are few
in number and the necessary equipment to work with is not in place. This
hinders them from carrying out their responsibilities fully. Due to lack of
budget for transporting those hurt the police are facing problems and cannot
particularly help those that need the help most (the poorest of the poor) in
kebeles. On the other hand, those that are better-off financially however,
cover their own costs.
There are also local militias assigned to assist the police that are
elected by communities. Their main duty is preventing people living in
communities from committing crimes though they have no mandate to arrest
or detain individuals.
Due to the shortage of the required and skilled manpower in the

judiciary system, dependency on each other; kebele social court on Woreda
court and Woreda courts on regional courts seems inevitable negating the
devolution of power.
9.3 PARTICIPATION
The communities in the Woredas have the right to participate in every
step of development starting from problem identification, inception of ideas,
planning, and approval of projects, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation. If so then working together could have built their capacities at
grass roots level and inculcated ownership.
o The Reality on the ground

 The communities at Woreda level are not fully participating in the

development of their own vicinity. They are not fully informed of
what the Woreda administration is planning or doing rather in some
places they watch all the development endeavors of the Woredas.
Administrators often notify the communities the plans developed in
offices without consulting them during the planning process. They call
upon the people to ask them to contribute in terms of labor, local
materials or cash to implement the woredas plan. Due to this situation,
even if the government calls meetings they are not ready to participate
in discussions. In addition, sometimes people might not attend the
meetings because of the biased idea that the government will not
consider their opinions. They prefer to keep quiet particularly for
issues related to politics and governance. Some of the reasons for not
participating fully could be the non- responsiveness of the
representatives for most pressing issues like construction of feeder
roads, digging water wells, construction of schools closer to their
villages etc., In this case, if the representatives have informed the
communities that there was shortage of funding, they would have
understood the situation.
 The government representatives on the other hand, are of the idea that
the main problem of under development in the area could be due to
the existence of large numbers of holidays in a month which hampers
the farmers from contributing to the development of their areas.
Hence, trying to change the attitudes of the farmers and the
community at large about working on religious holidays does not
seem feasible. However, the communities argue that they have
sufficient time for work in relation to the small land holding they have
for themselves and their families.
o WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION
Women working in government offices and NGOS are few in number

and even if they are employed they are low paid since in most cases they are
not as educated as men. Even though the policy of the government support
improvement on the situation of women, there still remains more to be done
right from childhood till maturity.
Women’s participation is also very much limited due to cultural and

attitude problems which hinders them from talking in public about their
problems. Instead of women directly speaking about their problems, the men
are speaking on their behalf particularly in big meetings and courts. Other
problems, though improving bit by bit (due to women’s associations)
include; early marriage, rape, abduction and violence against women. The
problems mentioned above coupled with traditions have hampered women
from having access to and control over resources.
o PARTICIPATION OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil Society here is defined as CBOs, NGOs (local and international)

and other formal and informal groupings such as women and youth
associations.

There are also cooperatives that are giving services to farmers. Both
NGOs and cooperatives have to have permission from the government.
Permission for NGOs to work in certain areas takes some time; every now
and then they might not be able to get permission depending on the areas of
intervention and location they are selecting.
CBOs including Idirs, Iquibs and Debos. are temporary gatherings of

people which do not require licenses though the aim of the grouping differs.
Iqub is sort of forced saving, while Debo is when farmers come together to
assist each other at the time of farming and harvesting and Idir is for funeral.
Nowadays, the government is using Idirs to mobilize communities for
meetings. Idirs are the most popular form of community gathering. They are
liked by the communities because:
 Leaders are elected by the members

 It reaches the community at time of major problem; death.
 It is transparent, accountable and responsive
 There is free flow of information between the leaders and the
community
 Simple and flexible in terms of giving money or buying materials for
funeral.
 They are effective and efficient.
 Legitimate in a sense that there are rules and regulations that governs
the leaders and the members
The communities prefer NGOs instead of government organizations

since NGOs give them the opportunity to prioritize their problems. Often
times they also provide them with material assistance and group credits,
particularly to the vulnerable groups; women
Youth and women associations these days are liked by the

community. These associations act like community facilitators in various
issues like HIV/AIDS, violence against women, informing the community
about epidemics, writing letters to NGOs and GOs for simple requests like
funding for projects ( whether it is approved or not ).
o PLANNING AND BUDGETING
The Kebele leaders in each Woreda work out the kebeles plans and
send them to the Woredas. The Plans are consolidated by the Woreda
administration. The consolidated plans are then sent to regions. It should be
noted here that the communities don’t participate in setting priorities. Hence,
transparency and accountability lacking
To conclude on participation, it should be understood that the

government is not the only vital organ that improves local governance with
regard to participation but all the actors working in the Woredas; Civil
Service organizations and private organizations undertaking development
work. It should be noted here that CSOs involve the communities in

prioritizing problems, plans, implementation and monitoring and evaluation
of projects.

9.3 ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
As mentioned earlier, in most Woredas, there is no transparency or

open discussion on issues affecting the communities. It is observed that there
are no information flows between different communities due to fear and
suspicion. As it is also indicated above, the communities are not
participating in identification of problems, prioritizing and planning except
in the case of CSOs. Lack of transparency therefore, prohibits the people
from demanding their rights and working on activities that they are
accountable for. This blocks the society from making the representatives
responsible for their deeds and actions as well. This also has a negative
implication on monitoring and evaluation of the society’s resources which
might give way for corruption and misappropriation of scarce resources. On
the other hand, the communities could have been accountable for not
availing community contribution, monitoring project construction materials
and works (Quality focus) and managing construction if agreement has been
reached earlier on or if participation took place from the beginning.
9.4 EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY

Government and Non-Government offices are expected to be effective

and efficient in terms of utilizing the society’s scarce resources and timely
completion of duties and discharging responsibilities. To perform
accordingly, a nationwide Civil Service Reform has taken place.
o What is the reality on the ground?
In government offices, the Civil Service Reform is being

implemented. The steps taken include posting the good governance
principles/elements such as accountability, transparency, rule of law etc…,
on their walls or in visible places so that the staff members are aware of
what is expected from them and guests know where to go and to whom to
talk to. There was great expectation that the civil service reform program
would bring total effectiveness and efficiency in the day to day work of the
staff members. However, when it came to implementation, there were
problems like shortage of expertise, funding and transparency in the
procedures applied.
The other major problem being faced staff members in government

offices are, the way activities of each individual are translated/broken down
creating subjectivity in individual performance evaluation. There is a

minimum standard/score set where most employees fall. In reality all or
most people don’t perform the same way, however frameworks given to
responsible personnel from higher authorities dictate the process.

This and the gimgema/face-to-face evaluations are frustrating most

employees who know they are performing better than others. There is an
indication that some responsible personnel are using the scoring for revenge
causing experienced people to leave the organization. These problems,
coupled with:
 The unbearable working environment like absence of habitable houses

for employees who are transferred from zones and regions and lack of
light, water, schools for their children and for themselves weakened
by the deficiency in the number of skilled managers and
administrators is creating frustration between employees.
 There is no information flow and transparency in what is going on

and the absence of complaint mechanisms in some organizations
hampers accountability from both sides.
 Inefficient utilization of resources.
 It is observed that there is deviation from what is planned and what is
being implemented which creates mistrust between mangers and
employees.
In general, the above situations diminish the efficacy of the civil

service system in promoting good governance and participatory
development. Nonetheless, it should be noted that some changes have been
seen in some organizations after the implementation of the Civil Service
Reform.

10 CONCLUSIONS
As can be seen from this paper, there are some improvements

observed in the local governance level after policies and strategies have been
put in place even though they are not complete. The Woredas administration
still needs to be capacitated at almost all levels in order to execute their
responsibilities effectively and efficiently. In addition to the capacity
problem, it seems that there is lack of commitment to facilitate the
implementation of good governance. To overcome this, trust between
government and communities should be there.
The decentralization process which is new to Ethiopia is facing

problems like the unwillingness of skilled manpower to go the Woredas due
to lack of proper infrastructures like roads, schools for employees and their
family and institutional capacity. Consequently, the introduction of the Civil
Service Reform and good governance elements still need better
implementation capacity and the required manpower.
Though noticeable improvements have been achieved, there appears

to be problems encountered by the communities. The following are some of
the problems observed while implementing policies and strategies.
 Lack of participatory planning due to the exclusion of the

communities right from the design stage of planning up to
implementation which otherwise could have inculcated ownership

of the programs and projects. It should also be noted that the

participation of women and children are lower or non-existent.
 Inefficient/ineffective provision of public/social services like
health, education etc., in which case people have to travel long
distances to get the proper medication even if health posts exist in
the areas. Sometimes, the health professionals are absent or the
medication is not there. Children also travel to long distances or
stay far from their parents particularly for secondary schools. This
is causing problems especially for female students.
 Lack of transparency and accountability is making the people
living in the community skeptical.
 In the Civil Service Reform, though there are administrative
manuals for promoting or dismissing employees, the staff members
are not clearly informed. Which results in the lack of trust towards
representative and the commitment from staff is also not there.
 Shortages of human and material resources are affecting the

development of the areas. Unless this is taken seriously by the
government, the turnover problem in government offices will
continue.
Finally, it should be noted that arriving at good governance at any

level is unattainable unless there is interaction between all stakeholders to

successfully implement the development agenda of any area be it

government, Civil Society Organizations or the private sector projects or
programs.
REFERENCES
1 Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty

(PASDEP), 2005/06-2009/10, September 2006, Addis Abeba,
Ethiopia
2 Study on the implementation of policy in Ethiopia second draft,
July 2005, OXFAM Great Britain
3 Strengthening local governance, finding quality advisory

approaches, SNV 2004
4 Mainstreaming Governance in CARE International Water and
Sanitation Schemes, May 2007, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
5 Journal of Human Development, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2007, Alpha
Diedhiou,
6 Fiscal Decentralization in Ethiopia, prepared for Poverty Action
Network Ethiopia (PANE) Advisory Team training, Getnet Alemu,
December 2006, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia


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Western Michigan University

International Conference on African Center for African Development Policy

Status of Local Governance at Woreda/District Level in Ethiopia

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/africancenter_icad_archive

Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Economics Commons

WMU ScholarWorks Citation

This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by

PROPOSED CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION FORM

I would like to participate in the Conference as follows:

------X--- Present a Paper (abstract/paper enclosed)

------------ As a conference co-sponsor (Please contact me at: E-mail:------------

------------ As a representative my organization and/ or business: E-mail:-------

------------Attend only. Please send me the final Conference Program

PERSON(S) SUBMITTING PROPOSAL/REQUESTING INFORMATION:

Name: Ms. Meskerem Shiferaw, Local Governance Advisor

Organization: SNV- Netherlands Development Organization

Address: P.O.Box 100301

City; Addis Abeba,

Country: Ethiopia Telephone 251 1 911 649524

FAX Number 2511 14 654386 E-Mail: mesksh2002@yahoo.com

Attn: Professor Sisay Asefa

Written for the 4th International Conference on

STATUS OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE

In Ethiopia, about 50% of the population lives below poverty line.

Written for the 4th International Conference on

Written for the 4th International Conference on

This paper is written for the 4th International Conference on Ethiopian

The evaluation in this paper will mainly depend on certain elements of

Written for the 4th International Conference on

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The paper lacks deeper analysis and concentrates on the experience of

Written for the 4th International Conference on

5 MAJOR POLICIES THAT HAVE EFFECT ON THE LOCAL

Policies and strategies have been formulated to facilitate the

 The constitution of the country

Written for the 4th International Conference on

o Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End

 This document is a guiding strategic framework for the

 PASDEP, reflects that the ADLI strategy will be pursued

 There were two generations of decentralization of power

woreda level in a more comprehensive and concerted

needs and providing capacity building trainings at the lowest

6 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION/MANDATE OF THE

As it is indicated above, the policies and strategies implemented by

Written for the 4th International Conference on

Written for the 4th International Conference 10

7 THE STRUCTURE OF THE WOREDA ADMINISTRATION

Woreda Administrative council

Kebele Kebele Social Public Land Assns. Women,

Written for the 4th International Conference 11

8 MANDATE OF THE WOREDA ADMINISTRATION

The Woredas being centers of socio-economic development have the

o The Woreda councils:

Written for the 4th International Conference 12

9 GOVERNANCE SITUATION IN THE WOREDAS

In the Human Development Journal as well, it is stressed that

After having seen the policies, strategies, structures and mandates of

The parameters used to examine the Local Governance/good

9.1 RULE OF LAW

It is understandable that the existence of properly set rule of law is a

o REALITIES ON THE GROUND

At the Keblele level however full time personnel/judges who are